Phineas and Ferb to Meet Avengers, Help Blow Up Death Star in Crossover Episodes

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After Disney’s recent acquisitions of Marvel and Lucasfilm, one big question that’s been on the minds of many fans is: When and how will Disney characters cross over into my favorite franchise?

Surprisingly, both groups of fans got the same answer: Soon, and via Phineas and Ferb.

Maybe you’re not sure what a “Ferb” even is. In that case, you’ve missing out. The animated series, which premiered in 2007, is now the Disney Channel’s longest-running original program. The hilarious and occasionally fantastical story of two step-brothers and their summer adventures might also be the best thing the company has ever put on television. It’s brilliantly written, with lovable characters and pitch-perfect comedy timing.

This Friday, Disney will premiere Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, a crossover episode that drops several of the Avengers into the cartoon series’ world. But even more exciting–depending on which Disney franchise you love more–is the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars crossover episode announced last month at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Phineas and Ferb is the brainchild of animation veterans Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, who conceived and began pitching the show while working on The Simpsons, Family Guy, Rocko’s Modern Life, etc.

Speaking with WIRED at the D23 Expo last weekend in Anaheim, the two longtime collaborators crackled with energy, often finishing each other’s sentences as they talked about their Marvel and Star Wars crossovers.

“It’s equally as scary as it is thrilling and exciting, because we’re rabid fans” of Marvel and Star Wars, said Marsh. “We wanted to make sure that we got humor from the characters, not from mocking them.”

Still from Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel. Image: Disney

The plot of Mission Marvel involves Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man and the Hulk arriving in the Phineas and Ferb town of Danville, then losing their powers. And thanks to the intricate history of the Marvel universe and its characters, Povenmire and Marsh encountered a lot of rules about what the characters could and could not do.

“Iron Man can’t pick up Thor’s hammer,” said Povenmire. “We [originally] had them switching powers, so we had him going around with the hammer and [Marvel was] like, no, you can’t do that. Wielding Mjolnir is about responsibility; it’s not about power.”

“And then we took that conversation verbatim and put it exactly into the show,” Marsh said.

Writing around those sorts of hard and fast rules isn’t entirely unfamiliar to Povenmire and Marsh, who have similarly strict ideas about the things their own characters would and wouldn’t do.

“Phineas and Ferb, from what our writers tell us, is one of the hardest shows to write,” said Marsh. “We’re very strict about what lines the characters won’t cross. Phineas is never trying to get away with anything; he’s never mean-spirited. Candace is trying to bust them, but not because she hates them. It’s about fairness.”

And while Mission Marvel brings friends from another franchise to Phineas and Ferb’s hometown, their next crossover with Star Wars will bring Phineas and Ferb to a galaxy far, far away.

In the special episode, which is slated for next year, we find Phineas and Ferb living on the next moisture farm over from Luke Skywalker on the planet Tatooine. They end up with the plans for blowing up the Death Star, and have to get them into the hands of the Rebel Alliance.

“[They’re] the Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern of the Star Wars universe,” Marsh said. “It’s Episode IV exactly the way it happened, and then offscreen to the right we would have seen our characters.”

Other characters slip into the saga in various ways. Tattletale Candace joins the Stormtroopers. And Danville’s mad scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz (voiced by Povenmire) appears as Darth Enshmirtz.

“The lowest of the Darths,” Povenmire says, slipping into character. “The force is … really weak with me. I gotta work on that.”